Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Monster, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dehumanization and Racism
Lies and Self-Interest
Endemic Violence
Injustice
Summary
Analysis
In his notes, Steve remembers that O’Brien warned him not write anything in his notebook that he wouldn’t want the prosecutor to see. When Steve asked her what she’ll do to enjoy the weekend, she smiled at him, which meant a tremendous amount to Steve. But Steve knows that O’Brien thinks he’s guilty. He can feel it. When Steve thinks about spending 20 or 25 years in prison, he can’t take it; that seems like his entire life. It consumes his thoughts. He still fears “being hit or raped” too. All that the inmates talk about is “sex or hurting somebody or what they’re in for.” All Steve did was enter a drugstore, look at the mints, and exit again, but he certainly didn’t kill Nesbitt.
The fact that a simple smile means so much to Steve suggests that he has been so dehumanized, so bereft of human kindness or affection, that even the smallest gesture feels substantial. Although Steve seems to suffer from this too, his observation that all the inmates think about is sex, violence, or their court case suggests that the intensity and confined atmosphere of prison strips away the inmates’ former personalities, interests, relationships, and so on, making them into mere shells of the people they once were, thus dehumanizing them.
Themes
Steve wonders what it means to be guilty. Guys in prison often talk about their court cases and how they should argue them. A white inmate tried to stick up a jewelry store and locked the shopkeepers in a back room. However, the store had a security lock on the door, and after he couldn’t figure out how to get out for two hours, he called the cops himself. He’d had his hand in his pocket like he might’ve had a gun, but he didn’t, and he didn’t touch anyone. They charged him with “armed robbery, unlawful detention, possession of a deadly weapon, assault, and menacing,” but he feels like he’s not guilty. Steve realizes that in 20 years he’ll be 36, but he wonders if he’d kill himself before then.
Ernie’s conviction and sentencing seem completely disproportionate to his actual crime, and thus suggest that the justice system is often less concerned with actual justice than simply dispensing the maximum punishment possibly to people it considers criminal. Although Steve’s narrative is often cognitive of race and racial prejudice, the fact that Ernie is white and still suffers injustice from the justice system suggests that such injustice is not exclusively the result of racial bias.
Themes
Mrs. Harmon visits Steve in jail. She tries to explain why she hasn’t visited him sooner, but when he sees the tears running down her face, he understands—it’s just to painful for her to see him in here. The crowded visiting room is so loud they can barely hear each other. Steve asks after Jerry and Mrs. Harmon says he’s doing fine; she’ll bring him by so Steve can see him through the window tomorrow. She gives Steve a Bible and reads some verses from it to him, but it’s not a great comfort. Mrs. Harmon forces herself to smile for her son and touches his hand briefly. She assures him that she knows he’s innocent, no matter what anyone says. As Steve lies on his cot that night, he wonders if it’s true.
Once again, Mrs. Harmon’s apparent pain at seeing her son in prison suggests that the consequences of Steve’s involvement with King affect not only him, but his family as well, and they distort his relationship with his mother much like his relationship with his father. Once again, Steve’s questioning of his own innocence, even though he’ll defend it in court, implies that he is guilty or at least connected to Mr. Nesbitt’s death in some way.
Themes
Through the screenplay, Steve recalls sitting with King in a park. King tells Steve he’s found a place to rob, that Bobo’s got it set up. Steve interacts with King, but never expresses any interest in the robbery. King tells them they just need someone to check the store for them, make sure there are no police in there. King asks if Steve’s in for the plan, and his voice repeats the question as the scene fades to black.
Although this memory implies that Steve did participate, it is worth noting that Steve occupies an almost entirely passive role throughout, demonstrating the manner in which even well-meaning young kids like Steve may be swept up in the violence and criminality of their environment.
Themes
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